Latest News

The new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has come into effect. The regulation gives individual more control over how data held about them is used in businesses and organisations, and that includes the Diocese and the parishes. We have responded by providing additional details about the info...

Run to the Son is a prayer festival established to equip Catholics for the urgent task of evangelisation. It takes place close to summer solstice to highlight the fact that Jesus is Lord of all creation and to emphasise the need to evangelise our culture. For more details and booking go to https://w...

Owing to adverse weather, the regular (third Sunday) Extraordinary Form Mass at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Exeter had to be postponed. There will now be an E.F. Sung Mass on 25th March, Palm Sunday. Usual time and place: 3.00 p.m. at the Blessed Sacrament, Heavitree, Exeter.

This initiative follows on from similar well-publicized and highly successful national events in Poland and Ireland. Sunday, 29th April at 3pm has been chosen as launch date for Rosary on the Coast in the British Isles. This is a day of Pilgrimage and Prayer for the re-flourishing of our Faith, for...

The Anglican Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Rev Nicholas Holtam, together with Bishop Mark jointly blessed a new chapel in a lovely celebration at St Edward’s School, Poole on Friday, 19th January. St Edward’s is one of the two Joint Catholic-Anglican schools in the Diocese and so It was particularly a...

Sr Sally Anne, who was the Carmelite Prioress at Sclerder until the sisters dispersed due to falling numbers, recently celebrated her Golden Jubilee on the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Sister is now part of the Carmelite Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Nottingham Hill, London. Bishop Ma...

This year is the 440th anniversary of one of the great saints of our Diocese, the martyr St Cuthbert Mayne. It was a great privilege and joy to welcome as our guest for two days (28/29 November) of celebrations Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. The Cardinal preached at Vespers in...

St Paul’s School celebrated their 80th birthday in style on All Saints’ day. Bishop Mark celebrated Mass with them in St Paul’s Church with present and past pupils, local head teachers and students from St Boniface College. After a wonderful and lively celebration in church, everyone adjourned for t...

Bishop Mark presenting a Knighthood of St Gregory to Sir Neil Butterfield having celebrated Mass in St Boniface Parish, Crediton. Also in the picture is the Parish Priest, Fr Michael Wheaton. After the mass, Bishop Mark visited a local Nursing home to meet with some of the residents.

A group of priests, ordained in recent years, travelled with Bishop Mark to Paray le Monial for a five day pilgrimage to this beautiful French town where St Margaret Mary Alacoque, who was a sister of the Visitation Convent received several private revelations of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the 17t...

The autumn of 2017 marks the 25th anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Fidei Depositum October 11, 1992). And the Guild of Our Lady and St Joseph, in Association with the School of the Annunciation, wanted to mark this significant milestone with a lecture by the Ch...

The Diocese of Plymouth has submitted a planning application for a new park for public use and some small scale residential development comprising of 6 carefully designed houses on land to the south of the Ridgeway, Plympton.The Proposal is to open up the field for public use and create a local comm...

The sun shone for Sclerder Abbey’s Family Festival on Saturday 19th August, an answer to a prayer that began many months ago when the event was first planned. Apart from sunshine, the key organisers Jean-Pierre Carosin, Sister Jacqueline and Helen Priestley, also prayed for people to take up the inv...

Homily – Vigil Mass in Chiswick for Cardinal Murphy- O'ConnorYou will not be surprised to know that Cardinal Cormac made careful arrangements for this mass and for the funeral rites which will follow in these days. Among others, I had the great privilege of accompanying him through some of those dis...

The former Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor has died at the age of 85The Cardinal was the 10th Archbishop of Westminster and President of the Bishop’s Conference of England and Wales from 2000 until he retired in 2009. He was the first Archbishop of Westminster ever to do s...

The Roman Catholic Bishop of Plymouth has paid his first visit to Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC) to celebrate mass with Officer Cadets and gain an insight into training.During two days at the College, The Right Reverend Mark O’Toole met with the Commanding Officer, Capt Jol Woodard and was giv...

It was a great privilege for me to be on Pilgrimage in Fatima in this Centenary Year with the World Apostolate of Fatima. I was touched to see so many from all over the world, and particularly pleased to be able to pray at the tombs of our two New Saints, Saint Jacinta and Saint Francisco, and to wi...

Over 100 altar servers of all ages from 8 to 80 converged on the Cathedral on Saturday, 8th July, representing parishes from Poole to west Cornwall. Together with some of their families and parish clergy they filled the Cathedral for a Votive Mass of St Stephen, the patron saint of altar servers. Th...

One of our long-standing pilgrims, as we were returning from Lourdes airport, remarked that he felt “it was the best pilgrimage ever”. Certainly it was a very happy pilgrimage, thanks to the hard work of our Diocesan Director, Fr Kieran Kirby, and the spiritual leadership of our Bishop. We are fortu...

I know that we have all been deeply shocked by the events in Manchester and London recently. I am sure that you are encouraging your communities to continue to pray for the victims and their families, as well as those who have been injured, or affected by the events. It has also been good to hear of...

Earlier this year many of the churches in our country took up the invitation of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to set aside the days leading up to Pentecost to pray for the renewing and empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. In 2017, the initiative has the blessing and encouragement of Card...

For nearly thirty years Church leaders and other pilgrims have travelled from the south-west to the Benedictine Abbey of St Gwenole in Brittany. There is a close affinity between Bretons and Celts and this is both celebrated and renewed by these regular pilgrimages, as well as visits by Fr Abbot and...

Listen to Bishop Mark’s Good Friday and Easter Sunday messages in conversation with Donna Birrell of Radio Cornwall. You can also hear him in conversation with Donna about how he will be spending Easter Day.

Keep in touch with HCPT and Group 141 this next week by going to https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7zlbnNCnuAPiC3goKcFgUg or to the webcam at http://en.lourdes-france.org/tv-lourdes/ HCPT Trust Mass (Thursday 20 April at 9am (GMT)) and Torchlight procession (Tuesday at 8pm UK time)

Have you had a chance to listen to Ed Sheeran’s latest album, “Divide”? If not, I highly recommend doing so. I must admit that I have become rather hooked! I especially love “Supermarket Flowers”.The song is about the death of a loved one. That is an experience that most of us can identify with. In...

Bishop Mark will be celebrating Mass over the Easter period at the following times and places: Day Date Time Location Sunday 09/04/17 10:00am Procession and Celebration of Palm Sunday Mass at the Cathedral of St Mary and St Boniface, Plymouth Monday 10/04/17 7:00pm Celebrates Mass of Thanksgiving at...

On the eve of the feast of the Annunciation, the Cathedral Chapter welcomed Canon Tim Lewis, Parish Priest of Holy Trinity parish, Plymouth, and Dean of Plymouth, as a member of the Cathedral Chapter. He was installed by Bishop Mark at a celebration of First Vespers of the feast. At the same ceremon...

On Wednesday, 15th March Bishop Mark met with four families from the Neo-catechumenal Way, who had arrived in Plymouth last autumn. Two of the families came from Spain and two from Italy and their children have taken up places in various schools - Notre Dame, St Boniface College and a couple of the...

Diocese of Plymouth Pilgrimage to Santiago de CompostelaSunday May 6th 2018 to Thursday May 17th 2018Join Fr Philip Austen and Bishop Mark escorting you along El Camino, the ancient Way of St James “To go on pilgrimage really means to step out of ourselvesin order to encounter God where he has revea...

In the passage of St Matthew's Gospel that we hear at the beginning of Lent, Jesus invites us "to go into your inner room" and in that place to carry out the tasks of prayer, almsgiving and fasting. It is St Ambrose, the great Bishop of Milan, who gives us the insight into what the Lord means by thi...

“God loves us, he so loves us he gave us his Son to be our brother, to be light in our darkness”Pope FrancisWishing you peace & joy at Christmas and through the New YearRt Rev Mark O’TooleBishop of Plymouth

One of the corporal works of mercy is visiting "the sick and imprisoned" and as this Year of Mercy draws to a close, Dioceses throughout the country have joined the Holy Father in celebrating a Jubilee for Prisoners. In our Diocese, some of our prison chaplains came to the Cathedral on Sunday, 6th N...

Nestling above the sea between Looe and Polperro is the beautiful Sclerder Abbey. Until recently, the Abbey was home to Carmelite sisters and is steeped in prayer over many years. Today, this mantle has been taken up by the Chemin Neuf community, founded in France in 1973. It is an apostolic Catholi...

Twelve men and women from across the Diocese were honored on Saturday, 12th November at the Cathedral by Bishop Mark. The newly minted and beautiful St Boniface Medal was awarded for outstanding service to their parishes and to the Diocese. The awards were made at the request of the communities in w...

Fr Rodolfo Cardenal is a Central American Jesuit who is Director of the Monseñor Romero Centre at the UCA, the Jesuit University in El Salvador. He is a surviving colleague of the six Jesuit martyrs killed on that University campus in 1989 at the height of Salvador’s civil war. He is an historian an...

“Then.if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’’ Luke 13 : 9.A quiet day can help us to open our heart to our Lord. We will take time to review how God is working in our lives and consider the fruit in us that is yet to be born.Timetable:9.00 RC Parish Mass9...

Bishop Mark together with Anglican counterpart in the southwest, Bishop Tim Thornton of Truro (right) are this week together on pilgrimage to Canterbury and Rome as part of a 36-strong gathering of Anglican and Catholic bishops, representing 19 different countries. The meeting has been organised by...

Dr. Antonia (Toni) López spends her life working with people suffering from a disease that most people consider to be almost eradicated. Hansen’s disease (Leprosy) is a chronic infectious disease that primarily affects the peripheral nerves, skin, upper respiratory tract, eyes and nasal mucosa. The...

Below is the press release from Friends of the Holy Land regarding the launch of their Youth Employment Scheme in Gaza this month in support of Chritians in the area. Press Release 13th Sept 2016- for immediate release Friends of the Holy Land Launch Gaza Youth Employment Scheme to Alleviate Christi...

Below is the press release from Our Lady of St Patrick's RC Nursery and Primary School for the Family and Friends Fun Day, happening this Saturday, 24th September 2016. The event will be held between 10am and 4pm on Teigmouth Den. School, church and community join forces for family fun on the Den. T...

Bishop Mark alongside local Methodist leader, Rev Graham Thompson, was delighted to be installed as an Honorary Canon of Exeter Cathedral on Sunday, 18th September. The Installation took place within the context of Choral Evensong, ,beautifully sung by the men and boys of the Cathedral choir. As Eve...

The new programme ‘Reading Dogs’ introduced by Head Teacher Sarah Barreto is in full swing at Our Lady of St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Nursery and Primary School in Teignmouth. OLSP Pupil reading to Wren For pupils at Our Lady of St Patrick’s Primary school (OLSP) in Teignmouth, term started with som...

The Ben-Hur movie is showing in cinemas now, and Damaris Media have brought a range of short featurettes for the church community.There are 4 featurettes, each a few minutes long. The first covers the story's main themes of faith, hope and redemption with clips taken from the film as well as cast an...

The press release for the collboration between Churchmarketplace and Interdiocesan Fuel Management Limited to provide renewable energy at an affordable price across 16 Dioceses in England and Wales reads as follows:Churchmarketplace and Interdiocesan Fuel Management Limited Press Release (18/07/2016...

Come and celebrate Fatima Day with Bishop Mark and the World Apostolate of Fatima Saturday 15th October 2016, 10am - 4.00pm 10.00am - Procession 12.15pm - Talk with slides presentation 1.00pm - Break for packed lunch After lunch - Adoration, Talks, Rosary, Benediction and more Full details will be a...

A wonderful passage was sent to us from the Holy Cross Parish, Ilfracombe, written by parishioner Barbara Chelsom upon her return from her pilgrimage to Fatima. It can also be found in their Parish newsletter dated 24th July 2016, and reads as below:MY FATIMA PILGRIMAGEI was blessed once again to be...

One of the biggest Catholic Youth Events in the UK is being held on March 11th, 2017. The Catholic Youth Ministry is hosting the Flame Congress, which is a National Catholic Youth Event. Plymouth Diocese have a group of 120 young people going to CYMFed Flame Congress at The SSE Arena, Wembley, with...

GCSE Results Please remember our young people as they await their GSCE results tomorrow, as well as those who received A-Level results last Thursday.It is another anxious week for young students. GCSE results are due out on Thursday and these young men and women are much in our thoughts and prayers...

A Level Results day Please remember our young people as they await their A-Level results tomorrow, as well as those receiving GCSE results next Thursday.There will be some anxious students around these days waiting for exam results. It’s a tense time with all sorts of decisions to be made that might...

BBC Radio 4's programme Book of the Week which covers the martyrdom of St Cuthbert Mayne.The book being covered (in abridged form) is: John Cooper - The Queen's Agent: Francis Walsingham at the Court of Elizabeth I, and Cuthbert Mayne's case is covered reasonably sympathetically, albeit tangentially...

THE GOVERNMENT has announced that Plymouth Cathedral was to receive a substantial grant from the First World War Centenary Cathedral Repairs Fund. The Rt Hon Karen Bradley MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport said, “Cathedrals are powerful symbols of Britain’s shared history. They are...

Courage needed to respond to evil with truth, justice and reconciliationTogether, as faith leaders, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and all those affected by the murderous assault that took place today at the Church of Saint-Etienne–du-Rouvray in France.We are deeply saddened and shock...

Bishop Mark spent a morning of reflection and prayer recently at Sclerder Abbey with the Anglican Bishop of Truro, Bishop Tim Thornton. They joined the resident Chemin Neuf for a period of prayer and shared lunch together. In the picture are three members of Chemin Neuf with Bishop Tim and Bishop Ma...

The work funded by First World War Centenary Cathedral Repairs Fund is now complete and has made continual water-ingress into parts of the Cathedral a thing of the past, as well as greatly enhancing the appearance of the outside of the building. The splendid work was visited recently by the Rt Hon D...

Some months ago, Bishop Mark volunteered to cook a meal for four to help raise funds for the World Youth Day pilgrims from Poole. The winners of the raffle were treated to a three course feast ( a bit of an overstatement!) in the Presbytery at St Mary’s on a recent Sunday evening thanks to the kindn...

On a beautiful Cornish summer’s evening, Bishop Mark was the guest preacher at the opening service for this year’s Royal Cornwall Show at Wadebridge. The Anglican Bishop of Truro, the Rt Rev Tim Thornton was this year’s Show President and welcome the bishop and they were joined on the platform by Re...

This year the feast of our Diocesan patron, St Boniface, fell on a Sunday and was marked by a Pilgrimage to Crediton, the saint’s birth place. During the afternoon pilgrims were able to visit the Anglican parish church which was holding a flower festival and attend a superb and amusing presentation...

"In a Mass for the sick and elderly in Lourdes, Bishop Mark O'Toole, the Bishop of Plymouth, encouraged pilgrims to always see a child as 'a gift". Full text below:Homily in Lourdes at the Cathedral of the Trees, City of the PoorIt is a great joy to be here together again this year in this beautiful...

On Saturday, 4th June the parish of Sacred Heart and St Aldhelm, Sherborne celebrated the 125th anniversary of the parish’s foundation. It was especially lovely that some of the sisters of the Religious of Christian Instruction, who founded the parish, still serve there today and were able to take p...

On the eve of the Diocesan Lourdes Pilgrimage, Bishop Mark played host to the “retired” priests of the Diocese. Mass was concelebrated in the Bishop’s oratory followed by a splendid and convivial lunch in the Chapter Room at Bishop’s House. These men are an important part of the presbyterate and the...

It was with great sadness that we heard of the death of Fr Michael Koppel, who died peacefully at his sister’s home on 18th May. Fr Michael was ordained Priest on 25th July 1993, and then served at Sacred Heart, Exeter, with Fr Harry Doyle. He later Parish Priest at Okehampton and finally at Axminst...

Saturday, 21st May was another special day in the life of the Diocese, when four men from our Diocese were admitted as Candidates for the permanent diaconate. Candidacy is the last step before Ordination and an important milestone in their formation. The four men are Anthony Carey (Teignmouth), Tim...

On Saturday May 7th we gathered at St.Brendan's Catholic Sixth Form College outside Bristol for our third and final formation day. As you can see from our photos nearly all our pilgrims managed to attend and we were happy to be joined by Bishop Declan from Clifton and Bishop Mark who will also join...

On Sunday 17 April, eight runners took part in the Plymouth Half Marathon on behalf of the Catholic Children’s Society. It’s always so inspiring to see the effort people will go to support us! Here is David Well’s account of his experience. Eric Liddell famously said that he felt God’s pleasure when...

The School of the Annunciation, the UK’s newest Catholic Institute of Higher Education, marked its second anniversary with the launch of the CTS’s edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Fergal Martin, the General Secretary of the Catholic Truth Society, delivered an address on the exacting...

"I would like to express my very deep joy about what Pope Francis has written in this very long letter on the joy of love. Its been given the latin title Amoris Laetitia. Some church documents can be rather heavy even a burden to read but this is very very beautiful, the Pope encourages people to re...

The Chrism Mass on the Wednesday of Holy Week is co celebrated by the Bishop and his priests. This is the largest gathering of priests in the year, at which they renew their commitment to priestly service. At this Mass, the Bishop blesses the oils for the coming year to be used in our parishes for t...

People across England and Wales will participate in a worldwide ‘Confession drive’ this weekend that has been initiated by Pope Francis, as an integral part of his Jubilee Year of Mercy celebrations.‘24 hours for the Lord’ will run from Friday 4 to Saturday 5 March and will see teams of Catholic pri...

Timed to coincide with the celebration of St Valentine’s Day - a day annually when those who have already met their spouse express their love and appreciation of them - it’s hoped that the prayer will provide hope to those who have yet to meet their husband or wife. Rt Rev Mark O’Toole, who is Bisho...

The world Apostolate of Fatima (England & Wales) national pilgrimage to Fatima 2016 will take place from July 7th – July 14th, and will be led by the National Spiritual Director, Fr. Gerard Kelly of St Francis, Handsworth, Birmingham. Return flights will be by British Airways from London Heathrow te...

As we begin the season of Lent, which has as its focus turning away from sin and towards God’s mercy and grace, Rt Rev Mark O’Toole, Bishop of Plymouth and Chair of the Bishops’ Conference Department for Evangelisation and Catechesis, reflects on the meaning of ‘Mercy’.Click here to see the full art...

Bishop Mark met with the young people on their second of 3 Formation days preparing them for World Youth Day 2016, a worldwide encounter with the Pope. Bishop Mark will be joining them during the week of July 25 – 31 in Krakow, Poland. World Youth Day (WYD) is a worldwide encounter with the Pope whi...

“The film Spotlight shows how victims of abuse were failed in Boston, USA. The Church deeply regrets all instances of sexual abuse and accepts that grave mistakes were made in the past. Victims must come first. “In this country, following two independent inquiries, there is no place to hide for thos...

All allegations of abuse reported to the Church in England and Wales are immediately passed on to the police. The Church works closely and cooperatively with the statutory authorities as these allegations are investigated. Following this investigation, which follows UK law, the Church conducts its o...

Hayle Churches Together held their week of prayers for the Christian Unity Service at Hayle Methodist Church on Sunday, where Bishop Mark O'Toole from Plymouth attended as the guest speaker. Margaret Tanner, Secretary of Hayle Churches Together, said: "It was a very warming that so many people from...

The Chemin Neuf Community is a Roman Catholic Community with an ecumenical vocation which grew out of a prayer group in Lyon France in 1973Couples, families, and consecrated celibates, men and women, priests and lay people, have chosen the adventure of community life to follow Christ, poor and humbl...

On Sunday January 17th, Bishop Mark O’Toole celebrated Mass at the Church of the Sacred Heart, Kingsbridge and invested Sir Brian Pearse as a Knight of St Gregory. This Papal knighthood has been conferred on Sir Brian not only for many years of devoted and voluntary service to the Diocese of Plymout...

Here in Plymouth Diocese people have very generously been offering the use of spare bedrooms for refugees, or suggesting that church halls and empty buildings could be shelters.In September of this year Pope Francis said: “Faced with the tragedy of tens of thousands of refugees who are fleeing death...

Broadcast from St Nicholas Catholic Primary Academy in Exeter. David wells and Fr Jonathan Stewart talk with a group of parents about what made them choose a Catholic school for their children. There are prayers lead by Fr Jonathan and some lovely singing by the school choir. Enjoy!

Pope Francis renewed his calls for peace and goodwill throughout the Earth on Friday, New Year’s Day, the Solemnity of the Mother of God and the World Day of Peace. The Holy Father’s appeal came at the Angelus prayer with pilgrims and visitors gathered in St. Peter’s Square after Mass in St. Peter’s...

AT OUR LADY OF THE PORTAL & ST PIRAN IN TRURO - Parish-based training for handing on the Faith will begin soon in Truro. This training is open to all adults who want to speak about their faith and don’t know where to start, and for parents and grandparents who want to speak to the children of Jesus...

Bishop Mark and the Bishop of St Germans, President of St Petroc’s society, attended a Christmas Carol Service at Truro Cathedral.There were choirs from Bosvigo School and Nanstallon Community Primary School. Music from Kernow Pipes and Drums.Clients of St Petroc’s were present, telling their storie...

Bishop Mark opened the Holy Door for the Jubilee of Mercy in the Cathedral on Guadete Sunday, 13th December, before a packed congregation from many parishes. The door had been beautifully prepared by Adrian Wardle and Cathedral parishioners and decorated with pink carnations. After an opening liturg...

Pope Francis' Year of Mercy is an opportunity to focus on God's mercy and forgiveness. To mark this, many of the Bishops of England and Wales have recorded special reflections for Advent. The podcasts, released one a day throughout the season, cover those important themes of mercy, compassion and fo...

I want to thank Peter Newby for this invitation. It’s very nice to be back with you. I echo Cardinal Vincent’s congratulations to the two bishop-elect, Paul McAleenan and John Wilson. Your ministry will, I know bring great blessings to this diocese. I know my theme for this talk is the Year of Mercy...

Bishop Marks message to the Plymouth Centre for Faith and Cultural Diversity during Interfaith week“I am delighted to hear that the Plymouth Centre for Faith and Cultural Diversity are hosting this celebration during Interfaith Week, and I am really sorry that I cannot be with you. I thank Fr Peter...

The Rt Rev Bishop Mark O’Toole, Roman Catholic Bishop of Plymouth, has accepted an invitation to become a Patron of SAT-7 which broadcasts the Christian message to the people of the Middle East and North Africa by satellite television.Bishop Mark was previously Rector of Allen Hall Seminary in Londo...

Gen Verde are an international performing arts group of the Focolare Movement and will be performing at St Peter's Church in Crownhill Plymouth on Saturday 7th November at 8:00pmTickets: £5 tickets on sale at the doorTo purchase tickets by post or for further information:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it....

We're delighted to announce that Bishop Mark O'Toole is the new patron of CHAT."I am very happy to be the patron of CHAT. It does outstanding work in support of those who are homeless and in need." - Bishop Mark O'TooleCHAT (Churches Housing Action Team) was founded by Christians who were concerned...

Ann Widdecombe, former Tory minister, joined Claire Warren and a group of talented crafts people yesterday for a Catholic Children’s Society fundraiser in St Mary’s Church Hall, Poole. The event was very well attended and parishioners from the four Poole parishes, and beyond, came to support the won...

The Apostleship of the Sea held a Mass for seafarers on 8th October 2015 at 5pm at Plymouth Cathedral presided by Bishop Mark O’Toole.For more information about the Apostleship of the Sea please visit their website www.apostleshipofthesea.org.uk

Message from Bishop Mark O'Toole:Dear ParishionersWe have all been deeply moved by the scenes of refugees, from Syria Iraq and North Africa, fleeing their war-torn countries and trying to make their way into Europe. Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has encouraged Catholic communities and parishes to b...

“In these past weeks we have all been struck by how vulnerable refugees and migrants are as they seek to make a better life for themselves and their families. Some of them can be badly abused as they make this transition. I am pleased to be able to be part of this important conference, and for the C...

BREAKING NEWS!Applications for the Diocesan Pilgrimage to World Youth Day 2016 are now closed. Unless Debbie already has your details, you will not be able to get a place on the pilgrimage. We have already established a waiting list and that too is now full.We will post details later this month of o...

2015, launched a significant evangelisation initiative called Proclaim ’15 to support, inspire and encourage new expressions of parish evangelisation. A project of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, it is designed to affirm the good work that is already being done by the Catholic communit...

One of the four women to be elected as “Catholic Women of the Year” comes from our Diocese, Mary-Jane Butler. Mary-Jane spent many years in Cornwall, working in nursing as a Macmillan Nurse, a Practice Nurse, and a Nurse Trainer. In 1997 she left to go to volunteer in the Diocese of Bungoma, Kenya,...

Towards a Culture of SafeguardingFREE ONLINE TRAININGThe Church has a responsibility to ensure all those who undertake work in the name of the Church are adequately trained in safeguarding matters. The Catholic Church is dependent on Clergy, Religious and Lay people using their skills and talents to...

In a packed Cathedral, the feast of St Thomas (3 July) was a day of double joy for the Diocese. At the end of the long path of discernment and formation, Jacek Kostuch from St Austell and Colin Groombridge from St Marychurch, Torquay were ordained by Bishop Mark as Priests for our Diocese surrounded...

A series of lectures by prominent speakers including Mass celebrated by Bishop Mark has been bringing the good news to the parishoners of Yelverton this week. David Wells spoke on “The Joy of the Gospel” to kick off a week that included Fr. Jonathan Stewart, Jillian Wilce on the subject of “Evangeli...

When John Pinhay, Apostleship of the Sea (AoS) chaplain to the ports of Falmouth and Fowey received a message from a shipping agent asking that someone who could speak Polish visit a seafarer who had been taken off a vessel following a heart attack, he knew what to do.“Fortunately, we now have sever...

"It is a great joy to hear that at a Public Consistory in Rome, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has announced that Blessed Louis and Blessed Zelie Martin are to be canonised on 18th October, World Mission Sunday.In May, we had the great privilege of welcoming them to our country when they spent sever...

This year’s Pilgrimage saw the start of a new era. We have a new travel agent and we are now using the newly refurbished and upgraded hotel, “Chappelle et Parc”, (previously owned by the Soubirous family) minutes away from the grotto and the domain. Lourdes of course doesn’t change in terms of spiri...

Bishop Mark is grateful to those clergy who have agreed to take up new appointments after the summer. They will be greatly missed in the present parishes but we pray for them all in their new ministries. Most of the moves will take place in September.Fr Brian Kenwrick from Holy Trinity, Newquay to S...

“Pope Francis puts before us a beautiful vision of our earth as lovingly created by God, entrusted to us human beings to care for and to look after. Everyone can see today that we cannot simply do whatever we want with this earth that has been entrusted to us. We have to respect the inner laws of cr...

A large congregation gathered in the Cathedral on a beautiful June day to celebrate the Silver Jubilees of our Bishop and two of our Diocesan Priests, Fr Jon Bielawski & Fr Jaromir Wilczak. It was a joy to have Cardinal Cormac, to whom Bishop Mark had at one time been Private Secretary, to preside a...

A brief guide to some of the less familiar aspects of the liturgy you are about to see.The Chrism Mass is celebrated in the Cathedral during Holy week. As the Chrism Mass begins the ordained ministers process into the Cathedral as a witness of unity around a particular calling to the priestly minist...

In an interview with Radio Devon on the Michael Chequer Programme on 24th May, Bishop Mark and Cathedral parishioner, Eileen Pearson, speak about the recent visit of the relics of Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin to the Diocese of Plymouth.To listen to the interview please click here

Cardinal Vincent Nichols has made a video appeal to Catholic parishes across England and Wales to join, on 11 July this year, a new national network of prayer for the work of evangelisation. The July date is significant because it is the same day that representatives from across England and Wales wi...

Beginning on Pentecost 2015, listen to Bishop Mark, six young people and Fr Jon Bielawski give an account of the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Starts 23rd May at dusk. Then each day until Sunday 31st MayTo access the videos please click here - First video will be available from 6pm on 23rd...

GENERAL ELECTION - THE BISHOPS LETTER TO ALL CATHOLICS IN ENGLAND AND WALESThe Bishops have released a letter addressed to Catholics across England and Wales about this year’s General Election. Over 500,000 copies of the letter have been sent to the parishes. The letter can be read in full here. It'...

As a diocese, we always respond generously to the needs of our priests and to those discerning vocations. At present the Seminarians Fund is raising around £71,000 per year. It costs around £30,000 per year to fund a student (seminary fees alone cost over £24,000) so there’s an obvious problem! At p...

The Bishop of Plymouth, the Rt Rev Mark O’Toole, was delighted to be present for the celebrations marking the launch of the School of the Annunciation and remarked: “I am delighted that the School of the Annunciation has got off to such a wonderful start and so pleased that Cardinal Pell is able to...

Sermon on the Feast of St Augustine in thanksgiving for the Carmelite Community's life and to welcome Chemin Neuf to Sclerder Abbey In his letter to the Corinthians, which we heard today, St Paul reminds us: "The witness of Christ has been strong among you so you will not be without any of the gifts...

A seven day retreat to: to come to know Christ more intimately through His Word in order to love Him and serve Him better in our everyday life. to recognise God's call and to respond to it decisively. A retreat during which there are times of: teaching, personal prayer with a text from scripture, co...

Shortly after his ordination, Bishop Mark wrote to Lisieux to invite the relics of Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, the parents of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus of the Holy Face, to visit the Diocese. They are the first parents of a saint to be beatified, and the the first spouses in the history o...

Christians talk about what Lent means to them through the lens of the daily readings. A thought for the day, each weekday (Except Sundays) simply click the YouTube link below and subscribe for updates on new videos. Also available shortly on the same site, Archbishop Malcolm McMahon talks about New...

‘Proclaim ’15: BUILDING MISSIONARY PARISHES’ is the name of a new national Bishops’ initiative being launched in 2015 to support the development of parish evangelisation. It is inspired by Pope Francis’ writings and has five parts which include: the provision of free parish small group materials; th...

ADDRESS AT THE END OF EPISCOPAL ORDINATION Thank you, your Excellency, for your kind words, for being here today, and for your goodness to me over these months. Through you, I express my fidelity to His Holiness, Pope Francis, Successor of St Peter. I pray that I be given the grace to mirror somethi...